Friday, August 07, 2009

- Alex Rios was claimed off of waivers today and the Jays can now either let the team take him and his contract, work out a trade, or pull him back. It is likely the winning team will just assume his entire contract. I have been told by a Cubs official that the Cubs did not put a claim on him.

- Waldo commented on this earlier. The Yankees put Robinson Cano on waivers but are unlikely to trade the 2nd baseman. The Cubs need to put a claim on him regardless and try to swing a deal. What a great #2 hitter he would be!

- The Cubs recently took a shot at B.J. Ryan, now it is time the take a shot at John Smoltz who was designated for assignment today. Smoltz has been anything but good for the Red Sox but he has throw strikes at least, only walking 9. He does have an ERA of 8.32 but that could drop a lot once he gets back to the NL. He would be great as a reliever or starter on the team right now.

- Carlos Zambrano was scratched from tonight's start with lower back stiffness. Marshall got the start and did not do well. Soto was also activated today with Micah Hoffpauir going to Iowa. Interesting move by the Cubs. Although Fox is more valuable than Hoffpauir right now.

- The Associated Press says that Hall of Famer and current Cubs minor league manager Ryne Sandberg wants to make it back to the Majors. If he waits until the 2011 season he could be the manager of the Chicago Cubs. Lou's contract is up after the 2010 season. The Cubs will be free of contracts such as Derrek Lee and Ted Lilly after 2010 (unless they are extended) which would give the Cubs and Sandberg some money to work with. I am all for Sandberg as manager of the Cubs in 2011, with Rick Sutcliffe as pitching coach, and Mark Grace as hitting coach. I would love that!

- The Cubs should add Chone Figgins to next year regardless of who is on their radar. He could be good at 2nd base or even a utility guy. This is the guy the Cubs needed this season and will likely need him next season.

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

-Jon Heyman along with other ML sources says the Cubs will make a claim on Mark Teahen when he is put on waivers. The Cubs would likely be one of many teams looking to put a claim on him. He is under team control for a while, can play various positions, and is only making 3.5 million this season. Although, in this market a lot of smaller teams may not want to claim 3.5 million so there is a chance.

- The Tribune says the Cubs will send down Sam Fuld when the activate Aaron Miles off the DL today. The Cubs place Andres Blanco on the DL with a calf strain and called up Tom Gorzolanny before yesterdays game.

- Soto could be activated today but more he will likely return to the Cubs on Friday in Denver.

- B.J. Ryan could be heading to the big leagues soon with not giving up a run yet in his rehab stints in Iowa. He has walked 5 in 5 innings but has stuck out 4. If the Cubs do activate Ryan and Soto soon they could send down Shark and Stevens to make room for the two. That would give the Cubs 12 pitchers and 13 position players.

The Rays are considering trading Carl Crawford and Scott Kazmir because of financial reasons. We all know how much Jim Hendry and Sweet Lou like Carl Crawford. They tried to trade Rich Hill and others for him back in Novemeber of 2007, but was then pulled off the trading block in December.

The Cubs would more than likely not want to get Scott Kazmir (even though he would be good in the NL) because he is a fly ball pitcher and they have good starting pitching depth.

Crawford on the other hand would be ideal for the Cubs. He would provide them with speed (51 SB), great defense (.991 fielding% and 5 assists) , great base running instincts (9 times CS), good average (.314), nice power (11 homers), high OBP (.373), and a all around great guy! He has a 10 million club option in which the Rays are expected to exercise and he would be in the last year of his contract. But in the next few years the Cubs will shed some payroll so they could sign him to an extension if he is traded to them. The Cubs payroll goes from 137 million this year to 119 next season, then to 96 million, and finally 54 million in 2012. So signing him to a long term deal is not out of the question, especially if it is backloaded.

For the answer to the "left handed" bat the Cubs have been needing for the past 3 seasons at the age of 28, it is worth taking him on for at least the 2010 season.

Out of these players I can see the Cubs looking at Adam Dunn or Willy Taveras if an injury occurs to any other outfielders. I can also see them looking at Ron Mahay, Ty Wigginton (for a super utility guy), and Willie Bloomquist (also super utility guy).

A lot of good players on this list. The Cubs really need a player like Qualls or Bell in their pen. They could also use Marco Scutaro. Mark Teahen would be the best guy to land on this list minus Felix and Doc.

Lets hope the Cubs do some moves in August because they will not make the playoffs with the team the have right now. The do not have consistent production from RF, 2nd base, and their late inning relief. Not to mention I think they need a Closer.